INVADING IRELAND

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20507, 18 March 1941, Page 7

INVADING IRELAND

“A REAL POSSIBILITY" VIGILANCE OF THE R.A.F. RAIDS ON FRENCH BASES LONDON, Jan. 30. An air invasion of Ireland accompanied by a “diversion” attack on Southern England to draw off fighter forces is a very real possibility, says the air correspondent of the Sunday Times. The battle of Ireland is probably being fought by the Royal Air Force in the course of its persistent attacks on Brest, Cherbourg, Lorient and Bordeaux, he stales. These are not only the ports used by submarines, surface raiders, and large seaplanes for making raids on British shipping in the Atlantic; they are also the bases from which any force bent on the invasion of Ireland would be most likely to set out. The attention given them by Royal Air Force bombers is thus intended to serve the double purpose of opposing the German counter-blockade and of “scotching” plans for a descent on Ireland. The most likely landfall for an invasion of Ireland is the part of the coast lying between Bantry Bay and Waterford, some 300 miles from the ports of Brest, Cherbourg and Lorient. “Quisling” Tradition Although the Navy and the Royal Air Force would be able to render prompt and efficient aid, an attack on Ireland, from the German point of view, would closely resemble in its tactical problems the Norwegian campaign. The enemy would probably count on a large degree of help from inside in the “Quisling” tradition, and the bases for the attack are much the same distance away. Fortunately the area of operations is much nearer British aerodromes, so that fighter squadrons could fly to the main battle area—as they did at Dunkirk. Ireland is the weak spot in the air defence of Great Britain. Although Northern Ireland is strongly garrisoned and is the base of a number of units of the Royal Air Force, the neutrality of Southern Ireland leaves a long vulnerable coastline open to invasion.

German troops in Southern Ireland would be no closer to England than they are at present in France, but they would command bases from which traffic from America could be almost cut off, and such bases would form a third front for attacks on England, already threatened from France and Norway.

Even if Germany could land troops in Ireland, the maintenance of a force there would not be easy in the face of the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. Nevertheless, an invasion of Ireland may well seem more attractive to the enemy than a direct attack on England at present. It would be consistent with Hitler’s policy of tackling big problems by means of comparatively easy stages.